9/24/17 - ... The highway has been reopened to one-way traffic at Paul’s Slide, 21 miles north of the Monterey County line, but the road at the Mud Creek Slide (where the highway was buried by an avalanche of dirt and rock) is expected to remain closed until late next summer.

That might seem like a long time, but Madonna said it would have taken even longer if contractors were still using the method they used on the Big Sur slide of 1983.

This California pepper tree in front of Laguna Beach City Hall stands 36 feet high, though it has decay in the trunk and is at risk of falling. The City Council directed staff to explore other alternatives than reducing the tree to 2- or 8-feet high. (Photo by Bryce Alderton)

Huntington Beach’s Kanoa Igarashi surfs in the Hurley Pro down at Lowers last week against former world champ Mick Fanning. Igarashi beat Fanning not once, but twice. (Kenneth Morris | World Surf League)